Less than a week after veteran FOX6 sports anchor Tom Pipines announced his retirement, another familiar local news face is calling it a career.
Today, longtime TMJ4 weatherman John Malan announced he will sign off, with his final day airing March 1.
"I am so grateful to our viewers for their loyalty and support over the years," Malan said in a press release. "I’ve had a career doing what I love. Now it’s time to spend more time with my family and pass the baton to the talented team of meteorologists we have on Storm Team 4."
"John Malan has been a powerful presence on TV and in our community for decades," said Joe Poss, TMJ4 vice president and general manager. "His dedication to keeping our viewers safe and informed has been impressive to watch. He may be leaving the building, but his influence will stay with us for years to come."
Malan began his weather forecasting career in the Milwaukee area in 1980 and joined TMJ4 in 1994, where he would stay for over the next two decades. Before his time as a weatherman, however, Malan pursued a career in baseball, playing for a Pittsburgh Pirates farm team before being drafted to the Vietnam War in 1968. While serving in the 11th Armored Cavalry, he suffered a shrapnel injury and earned a Purple Heart.
"There are different degrees of Purple Heart and mine was a smaller one, compared to some of the other people who served," Malan said in the release.
Returning home, Malan finished school, received his master's degree and became a part-time teacher before happening upon a part-time weather producer job at a Chicago area television station. He would stay on that career path, spending 36 years working in the Milwaukee area and becoming a household face for many local viewers.
TMJ4 will celebrate Malan's career throughout the month of February on air and on its website.
As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.
When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.
